1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a swimming pool, and more particularly, to an above-ground pool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Above-ground pools typically have a continuous base with a groove for receiving a flexible sheet metal wall which has a seam joining the wall end to end. Spaced-apart vertical posts or rigid ribs extend upwardly from the base, and a continuous coping sits on the posts to receive the top edge of the wall. A plastic liner covers the ground and the interior of the wall to provide a leak-proof reservoir. The wall is, in fact, held stable by means of the frame formed by the base, posts, and coping. These structures have stood the test of time and are extremely popular.
Such pools are usually marketed as do-it-yourself projects, but, because of their size and number of parts (almost two hundred fasteners), the installation thereof can tax even a professional installation crew. It has been the aim of designers in recent years to at least reduce the number of parts in order to simplify the installation of such pools. It is evident that if the posts were eliminated, many such parts would be eliminated.
Mashura U.S. Pat. No. 3,193,847, 1965, is one such attempt. However, Mashura utilizes rigid steel wall segments placed on a base. The Mashura solution is not practical for most applications since the handling of large rigid steel wall segments and the tie rods may not be practical from the shipping and handling point of view.
Schleeweiss, U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,825, 1967, suggests a flexible metal side wall strip formed with parallel ribs, without a base (other than a reinforced but flexible bottom edge), and a coping which may be flexible. It is evident that any force exerted on one segment of the flexible wall and coping could cause wave motion to be built up in the water contained in the reservoir, and ultimately the walls could collapse as a result of the movement of the water on the flexible wall.